'Thinking he is gorilla', vet shoots zookeeper with tranquilliser dart

By Agencies |Posted 07-Jun-2014

It turns out that the 35-year-old who was shot by a tranquilliser gun in Loro Parque zoo in Tenerife ‘was not in a gorilla suit’, officials say

Tenerife: Initial reports had suggested the zookeeper was wearing a gorilla suit, which is why the vet had mistaken him.

Representation pic/Thinkstock

But later officials at the Loro Parque, on the island of Tenerife denied that the 35-year-old keeper had been wearing the suit at all and that the ‘shooting’ had taken place during a routine drill.

The zookeeper was rushed to hospital and he has now fully recovered after being given the immediate antidote to the dart.

Patricia Delponti, a spokesman from Loro Parque said: “The incident took place just after the vet had been informed that the alarm had been raised for a practice drill and not a real emergency.

“He did not mean to hit the zookeeper and the zookeeper was not pretending to be a gorilla. He was wearing a normal uniform and had just informed the vet that it was a practice drill. It was simply an accident.”

Delponti added: “Obviously he was sleeping a lot after being shot with a tranquilliser meant for a 200kg gorilla but he is now already back to work.”